“We can make it a mistake, and I won’t get you in trouble. No one would know.”
Mr. Klein angled his chin, his eyes turning to steel. It was clear he would say no, so she thought of the only thing that might sway him.
“I think I’m in trouble,” she blurted.
Mr. Klein shook his head. “Now you’re stretching. Maybe you should just go home. Get some sleep and stop worrying about these letters or whatever scavenger hunt your grandmother sent you on. You’re a kid. You should be hanging out with your friends and talking to boys, not driving yourself nuts over this.”
Abby fought the urge to scream, knowing she was getting nowhere.
She crossed her arms over her chest, refusing to budge until she got something out of him. “I’m serious. Someone’s been following me. Ever since the first letter. He was even there the night I met the old guy with the journal.” An image of Kaden flashed in her head, but she felt only the slightest bit of guilt for the lie.
The muscle in his jaw flickered. He leaned forward in his chair and rested his arms on the desk. “If you’re telling the truth, and you’re sure it’s not some coincidence that you’re truly being followed, then this is serious. You should call the police and report it.”
“I already have. They did nothing.”
Mr. Klein narrowed his eyes. “Do you have any kind of proof? A license plate number? A description of the guy? Anything?”
Uncomfortable, she shifted in her seat. “Well, no.”
“Did he talk to you? Try to confront you at all?”
Abby shook her head. Okay, so she wasn’t the best liar.
Mr. Klein groaned. “What makes you so sure this person was even following you in the first place? Listen,” he said without waiting for an answer, clearly not buying her story. “Maybe what your grandmother wants from you is unfair. If you’re having a hard time with it, or if it’s bothering you, then stop. You don’t have an obligation to do this. Your grandmother is gone. She’s not here. She’s done living her life. What you do with yours now is your choice. You don’t have to follow some wild goose chase—”
“I get it,” Abigail interrupted. “And maybe I’m being a little over-the-top. I can tone it down. I might have exaggerated the whole being in trouble thing in the hopes you’d give me some information."
“No kidding.” He quirked a brow.
“I’m not a quitter. I’m going to get to the bottom of this.”
He exhaled and pushed back from his desk. “Then go for it, but right now, I can’t help you. Listen, I need to go.” He glanced at his watch. “I have a meeting. Why don’t you get a drink of water,” he said, motioning to the jug of water and paper cones in the corner of the room. “Take a deep breath. Go home. Get some sleep, and be a teenager, will ya?”
Abigail’s hopes plummeted to the ground by her feet. “Fine.”
Mr. Klein stood and shuffled the papers on his desk, stacking piles and moving others, before he turned and left.
Abby sat for a moment, thinking of how this whole trip was a waste and how she was no closer to the truth than she had been this morning. She should’ve stayed home and read more journal entries.
Blowing all the air out of her lungs in one giant puff, her eyes scanned the room, hesitating on the file cabinet. She debated searching for
her grandmother’s file then thought better of it. She might be desperate, but breaking the law wasn’t the best idea.
She stood, readying herself to leave and ignoring his suggestion she get some water when her gaze caught on something. Her pulse jumped in her neck.
She glanced to the door, but Mr. Klein had already disappeared down the hall. Turning back, her eyes soaked in the sight of the thick white envelope with her name on it, written in her grandmother’s pen.
Reaching out, her fingers trembled as she took it, knowing another letter was inside.
CHAPTER FIVE
The envelope shook in her hands as she slipped it inside her purse and hurried out of Mr. Klein’s office. She wasn’t taking any chances. If leaving the envelope behind really had been a mistake and not purposeful, she didn’t want to stick around to find out.
Abby hopped into her car and pulled out of the crowded lot, needing distance between herself and his office. Minutes felt like hours, the envelope in her bag drawing her to it like a magnet until she could no longer take it.
After several blocks, she pulled into a parking space outside a small diner and killed the engine. Outside her window, a robin hopped on the sidewalk, pecking at crumbs below a bistro table before flying off into a nearby cherry tree.
Adrenaline spiked her veins, reminiscent of the night at the park. Did she really want to open the letter? Did she want to continue the hunt for her family’s secret? Maybe Mr. Klein was right. Maybe she should bury this whole thing right now before she became too invested.